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SKIDMORE COLLEGE
Politics and Governance in Contemporary Islamic
Thought
Dr. Muhammad Al-Atawneh
Email: alatawnh@bgu.ac.il
Office: Ladd 315, the Government Department
Course Description and Goals
This course focuses on the development of politics and governance in contemporary Islamic
thought. Emphasis will be placed on the questions: What is an Islamic state or How should
an Islamic state look in our times? Issues to be discussed include: religion & politics, Islam &
democracy, international relationships, human rights, non-Muslims in a Muslim state. Finally,
two case studies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, will be discussed and compared in order to deepen
our understanding of the various contemporary Islamic trends in politics and governance.
Course Requirements
(1) Class attendance and participation (20%)
(2) Final research paper (80%)
Course Classes and Readings
Sept. 10: Islam and Muslims in Modern Times: Overview
Readings:
Said AbdulAziz, Mohammed Abu-Nimer and Meena Sharify-Funk
(eds.), Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, Not Static. London &New York:
Rutledge, 2006, pp.1-14.
Muhammad Arkoun, “Present-Day Islam between its Tradition and
Globalization". In Farhad Daftary (ed.), Intellectual Traditions in Islam (London
&New-York: I. B. Tauris, 2000), pp. 179-221.
John Esposito, The Future of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010),
ch. 1.
Sept. 15: State and Government in Medieval Islam
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Readings:
Ann Lambton, State and Government in Medieval Islam: An Introduction to
the Study of Islamic Political Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), pp.
138-200.
Ira M. Lapidus, “State and Religion in Islamic Societies” Past and Present, No.
151 (May, 1996), 3-27.
Fred M. Donner, “The Formation of the Islamic State.” Journal of the American
Oriental Society, Vol. 106, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1986), pp. 283- 296.
Sept. 22: The Caliphate: Rashid Rida vis-à-vis ʿAli ʿAbd Al-Razig
Readings:
J. J. Donohue and J. L. Esposito (eds.), Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), pp. 29-37.
Erwin I. J. Rosenthal, Islam in the Modern National State (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1965), pp. 64-102.
Sept. 24: Debating Politics and Governance in Contemporary Islamic
Writings
Readings:
Belkeziz, Abdelilah, The State in Contemporary Islamic Thought: a
Historical Survey of the Major Muslim Political Thinkers of the Modern Era
(London: I.B. Tauris, in association with the Centre for Arab Unity
Studies, 2009), pp. 119-142.
Charles J. Adams, “Mawdudi and the Islamic State” in John Esposito (ed.),
Voices of Resurgent Islam (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983), pp. 99133.
Sept. 29: Islam and Democracy
Readings:
John Esposito and James Piscatori, "Democratization and Islam".
Middle East Journal, vol. 45, no. 3 (Summer, 1991), pp. 427-440.
Raghid El-Solh, “Islamists Attitudes Towards Democracy” British
Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1988), pp. 57-63.
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Oct. 1: War, Peace and International Relationships
Readings:
A. G. Noorani, Islam& Jihad (London: Zed Books, 2002), pp. 45-61.
Manoucher Parvin and Maurie Sommer, “Dar al-Islam: The
Evolution of Muslim Territoriality and Its Implications for Conflict
Resolution in the Middle East”. International Journal of Middle East
Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Feb., 1980), pp. 1-21.
Oct. 6: Islam and Human Rights
Readings:
Ann Elizabeth Mayer, Islam and Human Rights: Tradition and Politics
(Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1999), pp. 23-42.
Mahmood Monshipouri, Islamism, Secularism, and Human Rights in the
Middle East (London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998), pp. 1-36; 63103.
Oct. 8: Case Study 1: Saudi Arabia
Readings:
Ayman Al Yassini, Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia (Boulder and London: Westview Press, 1985), ch. 2.
Muhammad al-Atawneh, “Is Saudi Arabia a Theocracy? Religion and
Governance in Contemporary Saudi Arabia.” Journal of Middle Eastern
Studies 45, No. 5 (Sept. 2009): 721-737.
Oct. 13: Case Study 2: Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood
Readings:
M. Brotherhood's Political Platforms, 2011
Nathan J. Brown and Amr Hamzawy, “Islamist Movements and the
Democratic Process in the Arab World: Exploring the Gray Zones”
Middle East Series Carnegie Papers, No. 89 (January 2008), pp. 1-24.